A Concert in a Residence Hall???

You all know that I've hosted a few concerts in my residence halls - well, to be exact: there's been four now. Three at my past institution; one here. One of those was a campus-wide event and actually hosted in our Student Union - but it was organized by one of my RAs and me, so we'll still count it as a ResLife event.

I often get the question: How did you get to know those bands? OR Why did you decide to host a concert?

Simple. I got an e-mail one day from a band member, who said that they were interested in playing in my residence hall. The e-mail included a link to their music. I listened to it. I liked it. I asked how much the concert would cost me. The cost was affordable. I went for it... and the rest is history. ;)

Hosting a concert isn't a big deal for me. I've always liked organizing events (I am after all the girl amongst my group of friends who has always loved organizing our sleepover parties - with themes - which is probably why in the most recent years they've all taken place at my house...and yes, we still have sleepover parties at 27. You're never too old to have fun. But I'm going off on a tangent....).
So yes, I've always liked organizing events. And I've always loved having music, dance, theater and art in my life.

But when I talk to other ResLifers, hosting a concert is something challenging if not impossible - a hurdle they don't want to tackle.

I just don't get it. I seriously don't. So I was hoping, maybe some of you can help me understand. And if you can't, maybe I can at least use this post to answer some of those questions about how to host an event and take away some of the mystery of organizing such an event.
I mean, those folks in Student Activities do it all the time - so why not us?

So what does it take to host a successful concert in a residence hall?

1) Find a band. There's lots of them out there. Yes, we ResLifers don't have the money to host one of those well-known campus acts that our colleagues in Student Activities book - but there's plenty of very talented young musicians who're traveling the country eager to play a show for any of us at a price that us ResLifers can afford. And if you don't know any of them, I can help.... Check out See The World at www.myspace.com/seetheworldmusic. I love their music and I've worked with them before - trust me, they're great to work with. :)

2) Decide what type of concert you want to host. Is it "just" a concert (I've done that as a kick-off for the year event) or do you want to connect it with another event or a special cause (e.g. I've hosted an Invisible Children Benefits Concert or most recently our Service Splash concert. I'm currently working with some friends on a Hunger Concert, where attendees will be asked to bring a canned food item to the show). You know your residents best. What will get them excited? What do you want to accomplish by hosting this concert? I've found that my events tend to be more successful if I connect it with some cause - get people invested prior to the concert - and then have the concert as a thank-you/end-of-the-service-project event. But that really depends on the student culture on your campus.

3) Decide on a date, time and venue. You want to contact the band first and find out when they'll be in your area. The earlier you can contact them the more flexible they'll be able to be with your date.

4) Get a contract from the band. This includes negotiating a price with the band. Negotiating sounds scary, bust just remember: they don't want to rip you off - they just need some money to survive and get their music out to people. Be honest about what your budgetary constraints are and I'm sure they'd be happy to work with you. Maybe think about combining with a few other residence halls - or get your Area Council/Hall Government or Residence Hall Association involved. Also, talk to your supervisor about how to get that contract approved. I know for most of us it takes a while to get these contract approved. So start thinking/talking about this early.

5) Figure out the promotion for the event. If there's a service aspects or if it's connected to some other event, obviously think about all those details.

6) Host the event.

That's really it.
Simple, isn't it?

So yeah, I just don't get why others don't do that.

Wait, you say. What about the sound equipment? How can I turn my residence hall into a live music venue? Simple. See The World, for example, brings all of their own equipment. All you have to provide is a few plugs.

Lodging? you ask. Well, if you can provide it, that'd be great. But work with the band. They may have a van and be willing to crash in their van. Or maybe you have a few empty residence hall rooms where they can stay for the night. Or a lounge space that can be locked. They're traveling musicians. They don't expect a luxury hotel room. Now, if you have one of those, they of course wouldn't say no to that either. But just think about what resources you have available and let them know; I'm sure you can work something out.

Seriously, this could be one of the easiest events you've ever organized. It's just scary because it's not something we usually do.
But come on - wouldn't your students LOVE to see a concert in their very own residence hall? [And trust me, it totally increases your "cool" factor as a Hall Director. Especially if the students see you talking to the band before and after the event - which you'll have to do anyway because you'll have to talk to them about some details for the show.]

And if you still have some questions about what goes into hosting a concert or if you're interested in actually making one of those happen in your residence hall community, just comment on this blog and I'd be happy to answer any questions and/or even help you organize the event. :)

And even if you don't feel ready to host a concert yet, do yourself a favor and check out See The World at www.myspace.com/seetheworldmusic. I think you'll like them.